Volume 3 July 2019

1

July 2019

Inside this issue:

OPTEX and OPTREX - The Gold

Standards of Operational

Readiness

Dehydration Risk Management

Global Marine Distress and Safety

System

Upcoming Events

What’s New

OPEX and OPTREX The Gold Standards of Operational Readiness

By David Larkin, DVC-RS

In the sea services, the terms OPEX (Operations

Exercise) and OPTREX (Operational Training

Exercise) are often heard. These two terms are

frequently used interchangeably but are different

in their fundamental purpose. An OPEX is used to

evaluate and refresh skills for those members who

are already qualified in their positions. By contrast

an OPTREX is used to develop new skills for

members in order to gain a new qualification. In

the Auxiliary, these two events are frequently

combined into one larger operation. We highly

encourage this approach. We also recommend that

if you combine those that you remember to drill

the qualified members and train the new members.

Most currently qualified members will actually

learn more by practicing the skills themselves, than

by being taught the same skills again.

Planning such an event can be daunting. To help

units plan a member in D11NR, Dean La Chapelle of

the Elk Grove Flotilla (113-03-10) drafted an

outstanding planning guide that is available here:

http://ops.d11nuscgaux.info/docs/OPEXandOPTRE

Xrev2.pdf. Dean has graciously allowed us to

publish the link and welcomes anyone to make use

of the guide. It was written for members of D11NR

so there are a few D11 specific items in it but it

should be easily adaptable to your area.

When planning an OPTREX you should keep

the events straightforward. The target

audience members need to obtain the

knowledge and motors skills to become

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OPTEX and OPTREX (continued)

qualified. For the OPEX members, do not be afraid

to toss them a curveball. Qualified and experienced

members already have the basic skills, so now we

need to foster problem solving and adaptability,

two things that become crucial when underway.

Examples might be a sudden SAR event in the

middle of anchoring, a simulated engine failure

while towing, etc. Working through unanticipated

problems improves teamwork and increases the

members’ confidence in their ability meet evolving

mission requirements in dynamic situations.

Many districts already have an aggressive

OPEX/OPTREX schedule. As of May 15th D11NR has

already qualified two new surface operations

members and recertified eleven more. If your area

does not have an OPEX/OPTREX scheduled perhaps

you want to look into hosting one. You can plan the

event to simulate a real upcoming event such as

Fleet Week, Tall Ships, or SeaFair. Working our

active duty/reserve partners into the plan helps

strengthen the Team Coast Guard concept.

OPEX/OPTREX evolutions are at the core of surface

operations training and readiness and can be a lot

of fun. We on the National Staff are here to assist

you if need any assistance in planning your events.

Dehydration and Risk

Management

By COMO David Starr National Division Chief-Aviation (DVC-RA) It is July in Oklahoma and while we have had an unusually moderate spring and summer so far things are beginning to change for the worse...heat wise. Last week I had been doing some work with a tractor, in heat and humidity that felt more like Houston than Tulsa. I had been on and off the tractor for a few hours and had to remind myself to try to drink more water than normal. For those of you who know me I do not drink coffee but do drink a lot of iced tea…winter or summer. I do know that tea contains caffeine and is a diuretic (all diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies) and I tend to make my fair share of “comfort” stops. At a recent CRM Class (Aux 17) the instructors, Jenny Stack and Judy Redlawsk, covered dehydration and suggested sipping water to get the required intake rather than my normal guzzling down a 12 oz bottle.

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Dehydration (continued)

They said by sipping we could even out the loss of water from our body and extend the time until we need relief…which would necessitate landing the aircraft. The National Aviation staff happens to be working on our 2020 Aviation Workshop so I contacted Dr. Mark Perni, BC-RAA, our Flight Surgeon, and told him about my day on the tractor. I asked him if he thought dehydration was something we might want to put more emphasis on in the medical presentation portion of the workshop. His response was “Absolutely”. (Below are some edited comments…notice he is much too nice to say I am old, he just talks about “aging”) “Dehydration is an excellent subject to expand upon for our workshops. Many reasons why aging contributes to dehydration include a general loss of muscle mass and proteins compounded by age related, deteriorating renal function. A common factor between aging members of both sexes is the reluctance to drink adequate volumes of water. Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH) begins in males around 50 years of age. and causes an increase in urinary frequency. With females, age-related weakening of the pelvic floor muscles can result in urinary incontinence and bladder leakage. Add to this the side effects of many of the medications people are taking and the use of supplements including excess use of multiple vitamins and high caloric diets rich in carbs such as sugars. This causes the kidneys to work harder to

excrete all these excess compounds we ingest. When cleared by the kidneys, the molecules pull more water with them out of our body and into the urine. Dehydration can also be brought on by an acute illness or other event. Vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and infection are all problems that can cause people to lose a lot of fluid and become dehydrated….” (note: Dr Perni and I did not discuss in depth electrolyte loss which certain sport drinks and supplements are touted to replace…Gatorade and the like. We will ask the good Doctor to offer his thoughts on that later.) Now think about our missions. They are usually conducted at low levels and can last for hours. Our Nomex flight suits, with survival vest and life jacket on top, the “atrium effect” of our cockpits, and for some of us our age, we have a recipe for dehydration which has many adverse effects. While there are many things we cannot prevent, dehydration is preventable. We can make environment adjustments. These can include limiting our activity to conducting flight ops to earlier or later in the day, or gaining altitude to search for cooler air.

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Dehydration (continued)

Also make a conscious effort to be aware of our personal wellness, decrease or limit intakes of caffeine, alcohol, tea (diuretics) and increase and maintain our water intake (sipping), etc. If we do these simple things we can eliminate or greatly reduce the risk of dehydration from our flight ops.

Awareness and Prevention of Dehydration

Drink cool (40 F) water

Measure daily water intake

Don't rely on the thirst sensation as an alarm

Limit your daily intake of caffeine

Remember acclimation to a major change in weather can take one to two weeks

Risk management - Monitor your activity; if you feel light-headed or dizzy, call it a day

The Auxiliary and the Global Marine Distress and Safety System By Don Wellons BC-RTI and David

Elliot DVC-RT

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety

System (GMDSS) is an international system

of protocols and equipment that makes use

of advanced communications (digital)

technology. Development of GMDSS was

initiated by the International Maritime

Organization (IMO) and the system

represents a significant improvement in

maritime communications. GMDSS is

designed to (among other things) enhance

ship to shore communications and provide

rapid, automated distress alerting, with

positional information available. While

compliance is mandatory for large cargo and

passenger ships on international voyages or

in the open sea, it is voluntary for

recreational boaters, but it is recommended

that recreational boater become familiar

with its features.

As technology evolves, it brings changes to

the various communication missions that

the Auxiliary performs. Change has been

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Global MDS (continued)

exemplified by two key points from ALCOAST

263/13 COMDTNOTE 2000:

“Effective 01 August 2013 the Coast Guard (CG)

terminated the radio guard for the international

distress and safety frequency 2182 kHz and the

international Digital Select Calling (DSC) distress

and safety frequency 2187.5 kHz. This closure also

terminates the marine information and weather

broadcasts transmitted on 2670 kHz.”

“Communications Stations (COMMSTA) and

Communication Area Master Stations (CAMS) shall

continue to monitor and respond to voice calls for

assistance on 4125 kHz, 6215 kHz, 8291 kHz and

12290 kHz and to DSC calls on 4207.5 kHz, 6312

kHz, 8414.5 kHz, 12577 kHz, and 16804.5 kHz.

Sectors shall continue to monitor and respond to

VHF voice calls on 156.8 MHz, Channel 16 and DSC

on 156.525 MHz Channel 70.”

Digital Select Calling (DSC) is a key feature of

GMDSS and all new VHF marine radios (other than

handheld) are required to have DSC capability. DSC

radios are readily identifiable by the distinctive,

dedicated red button marked “DISTRESS”, many

with a protective lid or cover. All DSC equipped

vessels are normally assigned a unique identity

number, known as a Maritime Mobile Service

Identity (MSSI) number. However, for recreational

vessels, the implementation is up to the boat

owner / operator. It is strongly recommended that

all vessels with DSC radios obtain an MMSI

number and have it programmed into the

radio. Recreational boaters that purchase

DSC radios are required to do this before

using the DSC function of these radios.

Note: the MMSI number is required to

activate the automated distress function

(red button) of the DSC radio. MMSI

numbers may be obtained from Sea Tow,

Boat U.S. West Marine, and other boating

organizations, at no cost. They may also be

obtained as part of an FCC license for a

vessel.

Given the Coast Guard’s Distress watch

keeping responsibilities, outlined above, the

Auxiliary has been active in working towards

continued growth of our Auxiliary

communication capabilities in support of the

active duty Coast Guard. Our Auxiliary

Monitoring Program (AUXMON) has grown

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Global MDS (continued)

through increased recruitment, training, and more

efficient processes. Our storm/event augmentation

capabilities, which focus on the frequencies

outlined above, have grown significantly as we

added to our digital capabilities, and provide

targeted mission related training to our operators,

as witnessed in recent support missions for

Hurricanes Florence, Harvey and Maria, among

others.

All Auxiliary Telecommunications Operators (TCO)

are invited to join us as active participants in the

missions outlined above. More information about

these missions and their equipment/software

requirements may be obtained from the author or

any member of the National Response

Communications Staff.

Happy 80th Birthday to the US Coast

Guard Auxiliary

We are Semper Paratus

Up Coming Events

NACON 2019 is Aug. 16-26 at the

Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando,

Florida.

Enjoy this great venue and experience the

warm fellowship with other attendees.

Learn the latest information on Coast

Guard Auxiliary programs, take advantage

of very informative workshops, and

celebrate the 80th anniversary of the

Auxiliary.

Response Directorate activities at NACON

Workshop “How to get maximum

benefit from AUXAIR for your

Sector”

Saturday 17 Aug 0800 - 0900 and 1410 - 1510

Aviation Roundtable (open to all) Thursday 15 Aug 1630 – 1730

Aviation Social Dinner Thursday evening 15 Aug

Volume 3 July 2019

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What’s New

Auxiliary Facilitators for Annual TCT Refresher

There is a new policy for Auxiliary Facilitators to

qualify to teach the new Annual TCT Refresher.

However, it is always a great idea to take this class

with the Active Duty if possible. If not, this

ALCOAST provides information for past TCT

Facilitators to become qualified for the new

Annual TCT Refresher.

For additional information

http://wow.uscgaux.info/Uploads_wowII/T-

DEPT/ALCOAST_COMMANDANT_NOTICE.pdf

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Response Directorate Contact Information

Program Area Staff Member E-mail address

Director Rick Saunders Rick.Saunders@cgauxnet.us

Deputy Director Roy Savoca Roy Savoca <roy@savoca.us>

Aviation David Starr David.Starr@cgauxnet.us

Telecommunications Dave Elliot David.Elliot@cgauxnet.us

Education Bruce C. Pugh Bruce.Pugh@cgauxnet.us

Surface Operations David Larkin David.Larkin@cgauxnet.us